The Best Exercises for Weight Loss

Posted On: 12-23-2016

When asked about the best exercise for weight loss, Professor Timothy Church of the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana said, “The exercise you’ll do.” He wasn’t trying to be a comedian; he was making the point that people tend to make excuses to not exercise. It does no good to sign up for a fancy gym if you’re always finding reasons to not go.

Injury and boredom are the two main things that derail an exercise program. Since trying to exercise through an injury often makes it worse and thus prolongs the recovery time, you need a program that will minimize the risks of getting hurt in the first place. You also need to choose exercises that you will enjoy doing, so you will stay motivated and not quit.

For most patients, it is best to choose aerobic or cardiovascular exercises rather than resistance or strength training exercises for a weight loss program. While the latter will build strength, they don’t burn as many calories as aerobic exercises do, and a weight loss program requires the athlete to burn more calories than they take in. Studies have shown that people only burn a lot of calories through strength training if they exercise for 60 to 90 minutes and, if they lift the maximum amount of weight they can.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture, an average-sized man who vigorously lifts weights for an hour can burn up to 440 calories in an hour. That sounds impressive – but he would burn 590 calories while vigorously running, jogging, or cycling for that same hour. Since you need to burn 3,500 calories to lose a single pound, you want exercises that will help you burn a lot of calories. The guy lifting weights will need to perform eight workouts to lose that pound, while the runner or cyclist will need only six. Both athletes, of course, could and should speed up the process by reducing their calorie intakes. In order to lose weight, you need to do at least 200 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise like cycling, walking or even dancing per week. On the other hand, you should not try to do too much too quickly, because that’s a great way to get hurt.

Cross-training enables you to exercise different muscle groups during your workouts. It also prevents injuries by not overworking any given joints, and it keeps you from getting bored. You should also get creative and look for ways to increase physical activity. For example, golfing can be good exercise – just don’t use a golf cart and carry the clubs yourself.

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